


The Best Medicine

by untoldstory21



Category: Persona 5
Genre: AkiTae, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Men Crying, Nightmares, Rain, Romance, ShuTae, Sleepy Cuddles
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-13
Updated: 2020-05-13
Packaged: 2021-03-02 19:00:52
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,637
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24171712
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/untoldstory21/pseuds/untoldstory21
Summary: Tae is enjoying an evening at home when Akira, her boyfriend, makes an unexpected visit.
Relationships: Kurusu Akira/Takemi Tae, Persona 5 Protagonist/Takemi Tae
Kudos: 66





	The Best Medicine

**Author's Note:**

> First a huge thank you to @AlmaFarron on twitter and Instagram, who helped me with this story! Please go check out the account it's full of many great AkiTae/ShuTae art pieces and many other great pieces so please go check it out! 
> 
> Second note, I did my first draft of this before Royal. That means no spoilers, however, post-editing and post royal I feel the story works well with it.

Tae sat on her couch after a long day in the clinic, she watched as the news ran by. Shido and the phantom thieves were the hot topic brought up by the newscasters and that young junior detective, who seemed to have gained a spike in popularity recently. She tuned out the noise knowing it was mostly lies anyway. Those ignorant reporters annoyed her so much. They didn’t know a damn thing. As someone who had close ties with the leader of the notorious phantasm thieves, she had plenty of access to the truth. She knew that the news was far from that.

Finally, the weather segment began to report how the current rainstorm would only get worse through the night. Rain showers had been going on since she left the clinic, pattering on the ground with force. However, she heard the first clap of thunder only a few minutes ago.

A loud bang on the door took her away from the tv. “What the fuck was that?” she thought to herself. As Tae quickly got up, she pulled her T-shirt, displaying her favorite rock band on it, down to cover her lack of pants. Another pound came against the door, she hurried to her purse and grabbed her phone in case she needed to call the police.

When Tae got to the door she locked it with the chain, she felt the cold wind rush in as she ever so slighting opened the door to see who it was. As she cautiously peered out, she could see standing there soaking wet, was her raven-haired high-school boyfriend. Before the boy could speak she unlocked the door, letting him in. 

Akira stood there quietly and waited for her to finish her examination. Tae didn’t see any new cuts or bruises, which knowing him was a relief. However, she could tell from the redness from his eyes, he had been crying. “Akira, what are you doing here? It’s midnight and pouring rain.” Tae said. She didn’t give him a chance to explain before she briefly stepped away to grab him a towel from the cabinet for his soaking wet hair that had started to drip on the floor.

“Here, take this, go to the bedroom and change. I don’t need my little guinea pig catching a cold.” She said, handing him the towel.

She walked him to the bedroom, thankfully he had a few pairs of clothes there. Good thing Tae occasionally stole some of his clothes for herself. While he got dry she sat at the edge of the bed and carefully watched him. It was nothing she hadn't seen before, she was his doctor and girlfriend. But each time she saw the scars, some being cuts she stitched up for him; she couldn’t help but think how dangerous the life he lived was. Tae took a deep breath before stating the elephant in the room: “As much as I like to see you, my little guinea pig, it’s rare for you to come unannounced.” 

Akira finished drying off and handed Tae the towel. “Thanks,” was the only thing that came out of this mouth. Tae took the wet cloth and carelessly threw it in the clothes basket before turning her attention back to him. 

Akira stood there in silence, he started to twirl his usually frizzy hair. He could hear the rain still pouring down hard outside and gave a quick glance at the door. Akira began to wonder if he should have even come over. She probably had work early in the morning; she didn’t need to be preoccupied with random visitations. Akira tried to open his mouth, but the words seemed to be stuck in his throat. He had come all the way here in the cold rain, and now he didn’t even know what to say to her.

“Hey, Akira?” Tae called him out of his trance, Akira could see the prominent concern on her face, “Please tell me why you're here. What’s wrong? Did something happen?” 

Akira let go of his hair and forced a smile. A smile that he wore like a mask to tell others that everything was fine. “I just missed you, everything is fine.”

“Why are you lying to me? You know that I respond fast to both your calls and texts, so why would you walk all the way here while it was storming.” Tae sighed, she knew how stubborn he could get. “Akira, do you know where I always begin your examinations? Your eyes, you think I haven’t noticed the redness in them?”

Akira’s smile slowly fell away. He felt the still air of the room take his breath away for a second. He knew he couldn’t hide anything from his closest confidant. Part of him thought that just being near her and seeing her face would fix everything. He should have known better, that she would call out his unusual actions.

“... I'm scared, Tae.” He couldn’t hold off any longer. Akira felt like he used all of his strength to just open his mouth, let alone get the words to come out. His chest felt like it was going to sink after the words trickled out. He tried to meet her gaze, to look into her mesmerizing brownish-violet eyes. Akira felt he didn’t have the strength to look; so his eyes fell to his feet.

“Scared…? Come over here and sit next to me.” She patted a space next to her on the soft bed. This is a new one, she thought to herself. She had known him to take odd drugs without hesitation and jump headfirst into danger, much to her worry, not to be scared. Akira slowly walked over, his movements were stiff. Tae could see his hesitancy, which made her more worried. “Akira, what’s wrong? You can talk to me.” 

Akira sat down and took a deep breath, taking the time to feel the air fill his lungs. He thought about all the horrible things he has seen that led him to this point. 

“This phantom thief stuff, I’ve been doing it for months now but I feel like I’m still so new at it. Every day people are hurting around this city because of others and there is nothing we can do.” His voice was shaky and began to give out by the last sentence. He took a second to try and regroup himself. “Who knows how many we haven’t saved, or how many could have saved if we had only known.”

“Akira...” she wasn’t sure what to say. He was usually the one who helped her. But as a doctor, she understood what he meant. Tae started to reach for him but Akira seemed almost scared of her touch. His eyes slowly drifted away from hers. He took another breath and turned his attention back on her face which always captivated him. 

“Ever since they gave me that truth drug, nightmares flood my head. They don’t seem to go away, I relive the horrors we see in the metaverse. Horrific visions pound in my head, I see all of the team, my friends, die by the hands of these monstrous cognitions, one after another they just disappear.” His voice began to crack as he started to avert his eyes towards the floor again. “I couldn’t take it anymore, I didn’t know what to do. So I came here, I didn’t care if it was raining.”

Tae looked at his defeated face and slowly wrapped her arms around him. Tears began to run down his face as he was brought into her warm embrace. Tae felt his arms shake as they slowly wrapped around her. This was the lowest she had ever seen him, he usually more confident and suave demeanor was gone. Even when he came in with big wounds he would take it with ease. But here he was crying into her shoulder. Tae felt his grip tighten around her, as if he was clinging on to her for dear life. She softly began rubbing his back in an effort to help calm him down. 

Tae had an idea of what he felt. When she was named The Plague no one trusted her, she thought she was unable to save people. All the work she tried to do to make others smile was deemed malicious. She felt alone, when she heard Miwa-chan had died, though it was a lie, she had felt the fear of losing other people. Even with that shared understanding she still wasn’t sure what to do but let him stay in her arms. Tae could feel his shallow breaths as he took in air. She loved him, she really did. Her heart began to hurt seeing him in this state. Tae couldn’t help but wonder if Akira felt the same when he helped her while she was upset about Miwa-chan.

Tae continued to stroke his back. This was still new to her, she had never been outright affectionate until she met him. Akira began to gasp for breath before he started to talk again. His voice was shaker than before as the tears rolled down his face.“It wasn’t just my teammates I saw, it was everyone I cared for. My parents, Sojiro, my teachers.” Akira stopped to take a deep breath and let the last word escape his dry lips “... you.” Tae’s eyes got wide as she heard him say the last word, for a brief moment she stopped stroking his back. She wasn’t sure what to do, she couldn’t even imagine what he must have seen in his head for the past weeks.

“I don’t want to lose you!” He let out as he tightened his arms around her, she felt his body almost begin to shake. His head was buried into her shoulder. Tae could feel his tears through her shirt. “I can’t lose you. I need you with me Tae. Tonight I went to bed; I saw... I saw... you and then ... before I knew it you were gone. I needed to make sure it was just that, a nightmare, and you weren’t really gone.” His voice was muffled from her shirt but Tae could understand every word. Akira tightened the grip around her shirt for a few seconds before he slowly let go as he began to regain control.

Tae felt her heart shatter as she listened to him describe the dream, it was haunting that his visions of these events were so realistic. She didn’t need to be a psychiatrist to see how much his “after school activities” had affected him mentally. She began to rub his back again in an effort to at least keep him calm. 

Tae wasn’t sure how to respond but she knew, at this moment she wanted to see her little guinea pigs smile again; she wanted to see the way his eyes sparkled when she would tease him. She knew she wanted him to feel all the love in the world. Akira had finally stopped crying; he slowly started to regain control of his body. The young man raised his head from his girlfriend's shoulder which was slightly damp from his tears. He finally met Tae’s eyes and looked into her face which was full of compassion. 

Slowly Tae cupped Akira’s cheeks, the hesitation from earlier was now gone. She gently wiped away any remaining tears with her thumb. Akira couldn’t help but relax in her soft warm hands. She looked at his face, his eyes were still red from crying. “Akira, look at me. I’m right here. I’m not leaving you anytime soon, I promise. You're my little guinea pig, and the world will have to try all it can to rip me away from you because I won’t go without a fight. I love you.” Tae could feel her heartbeat, she didn’t know where those words came from, but she meant them. This young man who she met nine months ago, and had only dated for six of them had changed her life in unexpected ways. Akira looked into her eyes and nodded in understanding.

“I love you too, Tae.”

She gave him a small chaste kiss on his lips, his arms still held her tight. She wrapped her arms around his neck, bringing him closer for one last hug. She loved the warmth of their bodies, especially as it was a cold night. She knew they were going to get through this pain together even if it took time. Tae let go of his neck: “Come on, time for some sleep. You need it, it’s good for your health.” Akira slowly let go of Tae, her gaze stayed on him telling him it would be okay. 

They stood up getting off the edge of the bed. Tae once again adjusted her shirt as it had shifted around during their talk. Akira grabbed one of the spare shirts that Tae had taken from him. He slowly put it on and started to casually head for the door. “Where are you going?” Tae called out from behind him. 

Akira turned around and looked at her and then back at the door: “Back to LeBlanc.” He said nonchalantly with a soft smile. At that time a loud roar of thunder rang out making the lights flicker for a second. Akira stopped to look at the light above, making sure it was okay. As he slowly lowered his head, he looked back at her. Tae’s disapproving scowl said it all before the words had even passed through her lips. 

“Not in this weather, what kinda doctor or girlfriend would I be if I let you out in that. Now get over here, closer to me.” With her finger, she motioned him over to the bed. 

Akira knew there was no way to win against her so he surrendered. Plus he was already physically and emotionally drained so walking back in a storm probably wasn’t the smartest idea. He reluctantly pulled his phone out of his pocket and messaged Sojiro. He lied and told him he spent the night at Ryuji’s, as that was easier to explain than him having snuck out, at midnight, in a thunderstorm to see his girlfriend. Tae tossed Akira a pillow, which he caught with ease. Tae began to explain to him that she didn’t have work in the morning so they could sleep in and just spend some much needed time together. 

They got under the warm soft covers, Tae warped her arms around Akira bringing him close once again, his head nuzzled in her neck. They both basked in the body heat that seemed to keep them much warmer than the blankets. Even with him being a lot taller than her, she enjoyed holding him like this. She nimbly stroked his head, Akira could feel her nails scratch the top of his head relaxing his whole body. It was times like tonight Tae remember he was only in high-school. He was always acting mature, but now his vulnerability was revealed to her and no one else. Akira’s eyes closed, falling into the spell of relaxation she had cast upon him. 

As she laid there waiting to fall asleep, she studied his sleeping face. The more she looked at it, the more she thought about how she loved him. Tae felt his body fill with air and release it as he breathed at a steady pace. This put her more at ease; hopefully, he could finally start to truly feel better. She let her fingers continue to run through his hair. A smile came to her face, “I’m so happy I fell in love with you.” she thought to herself. Tae placed her lips on his forehead, granting him a kiss before falling asleep with him safely in her arms.


End file.
